The New Orleans Sewerage & Water Board lost service to one of its power turbines, which provides power to a majority of the city’s pumping stations serving the East Bank of New Orleans.

Gov. Edwards says a state of emergency has been declared due to ongoing flooding issues.

“This is a serious situation, and it was out of an abundance of caution that I issued an emergency declaration” said Gov. Edwards. “I want to ensure everyone in New Orleans that they have the full support of the state. We will do everything possible to work with Mayor Landrieu and city officials to respond effectively to any flooding that might occur and to prevent any threat to our citizens and property. The Governor’s Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness stands ready to deploy state resources as needed.”

Mayor Landrieu noted that the city will be vulnerable for the next 24 to 48 hours.

“I am therefore urging residents in the affected area in the event of rain to move their vehicles to higher ground, take necessary actions to protect personal properties, stay off of the roadways during storms unless an emergency makes it absolutely necessary to do so,” New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu said.

Drinking water and sewerage services for the city are not impacted by this outage.

Crews are on site now working to repair the down turbine and secure backup power to restore power to the pumping stations.

Youngstown State University student Albert Maruna was caught red-handed and arrested this week after he allegedly attempted to have sex with a 15-year-old boy, who turned out to be an undercover officer.

Youngstown State University student Albert Maruna was caught red-handed and arrested this week after he allegedly attempted to have sex with a 15-year-old boy, who turned out to be an undercover officer.